


Hell in a Handbasket

by ReadingIsFundamental



Series: Delilah in Devildom [1]
Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Angst, Canon Character/Original Character, F/M, Fluff, Multi, OC, Religious Themes, Romance, maybe smut later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:00:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23398870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReadingIsFundamental/pseuds/ReadingIsFundamental
Summary: Follow Delilah, exasperated, terrified, and tired of the demon brother's emotional constipation, as she makes the most out of her year in The Devildom!
Relationships: Asmodeus (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Beelzebub (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Leviathan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Delilah in Devildom [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1683154
Comments: 10
Kudos: 51





	1. Chapter 1

_“Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.”_

Delilah sighed. The Dalai Lama probably meant Spain or maybe even just a three hour roadtrip somewhere fun. He probably didn't mean for Hell to be the vacation destination, but here she was.

Delilah paused in the doorway to the bedroom; her bedroom for the next year if Lucifer was to be believed. She had signed a contract, believing the mystery exchange program offered by her university to be benign. No one had hurt her, _yet_ , she mused to herself. Perhaps spending a year in Hell— _Devildom_ —would be a wonderful learning experience. It posed many questions, that was for sure.

The unease she had felt upon arrival had only increased, churning in her stomach. Her heart beat erratically and she felt the mixture of cold anxiety and a dash of fear…or was it excitement? In one morning, she had found out that not only was the afterlife real, but all the creatures that came with it, even being assigned a personal demon escort in the form of _The Great Mammon_.

Delilah remembered the amused look on the student council president’s face when she tried to weasel her way out of it, “Oof sorry, I’ve been baptized and as my good friend Matthew once said, _Ye cannot serve God and Mammon_ _1_ ,” she had quoted the Bible and shrugged nervously. “Anyone got a return to sender sticker or a ride back over the Acheron2, cause it looks like I gotta go home.”

“At least it seems that she is well read,” Satan nodded, almost approvingly. She didn’t know how to feel about having _Satan’s_ approval, but at least she felt it meant he wouldn’t attack her outright if she were in his favor.

“And well enough to tell jokes,” Lucifer seemed amused.

“Oh, I can tell I’m going to love playing with you,” Asmodeus blew a kiss in Delilah’s direction, earning a flustered smile in return. His heart leapt, how cute!

“Yeah, what the human said,” Mammon chimed in, completely ignoring his brothers, “Let her go back and leave me out of it!”

“Delilah signed a binding contract!” Diavolo, the prince of all of The Devildom, and student council president, piped up with an unsettlingly charming smile, ignoring both Mammon and Satan. “With Lucifer and his brothers protecting you, I promise you’re going to enjoy your time here!”

She blinked and all their faces disappeared before her eyes, the memory fading like candle smoke in the breeze. “My History of Religion professor would have a heyday,” she snorted, taking a slow step into her new room.

The room smelt like the earth, the scent of freshly upturned dirt and flowers. Taking a deep inhale, she let her eyes traverse her living space. Aside from the gorgeous four poster bed that appeared to be made of a living tree of some kind, the dark room looked much like a regular bedroom. There were a few lit candles sitting on the desk near the door and pillows were strewn about the room, creating a comfortable, almost magical, atmosphere.

Delilah sat her stuff down on the floor next to the dresser just as Mammon burst into the room in a flurry. “I can’t believe I got stuck babysitting you,” he lamented as he flopped on her bed. The action was so familiar, reminding her of how her friends would come into her dorm just to complain. Despite his obvious dislike of her, and her species, she felt strangely endeared to the white-haired demon. “Me! Babysitting a weak little human!”

“Well, we could always make the best of it and be friends?” She suggested, strolling lazily around the room, opening drawers and cabinets to quell her curiosity. She wasn’t finding anything of interest, just some school uniforms, undergarments, and toiletries. It did disturb her a bit that the undergarments were her exact size, and she was sure, based upon sight alone, that they would fit like a glove. Did they magically get her measurements? As she was lost in thought, she almost missed Mammon make a noise of disgust.

“Me? The Great Mammon, friends with a _human_?” Mammon left it at that, shaking his head and sitting up. “There’s nothing in it for me!”

“Hmm, that’s a shame, but I guess I have a year here to make other friends,” She covered up her slight disappointment with another shrug, electing to close the drawer she was looking in and sigh.

With her inspection of the room complete, she moved towards the door, causing the demon in her bed to jolt up. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I want to explore where I’ll be living,” she explained, “Would you like to come along and show me around?”

She couldn’t be sure, but there was a part of her that swore a slight pink dusted the demon’s features at her invitation. He was silent for a moment, as if debating how to respond. “Come on, in or out, Mammon.” Delilah urged him the same way she would talk to her dog, Captain Bork, back home when he would just stand in the threshold of the back door without moving.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” he grumbled, pushing past her on his way out the door. “Just remember who’s leading who around here!”

“Of course!” Delilah smiled sweetly at him, grateful for his presence, but also amused at how easy he was to rile up.

If she could just get at least one of the brothers to warm up to her, maybe this year abroad wouldn’t be too bad! Maybe things will go smoothly, and she’ll make friends with her demon roommates. That would be the best outcome, Delilah thought to herself. Spend the year making friends, doing tasks, and then write her paper and go home! It’s almost like a regular exchange program!

“You scum!” She heard yelling coming from down the hallway behind her.

“Oh boy, here we go again,” Mammon rolled his eyes.

Or maybe not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Matthew 6:24 in the King James Bible translation says “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” It was written to say you can’t serve both God and money because you will always choose one or the other, but I thought it was a funny little bit to throw in there!  
> 2) The Acheron was known as the river of woe in Greek mythology! It was the principle river that both the river Styx and Cocytus started from. Once you died, Charon would escort your soul, by boat, along the river until you reached the underworld.


	2. TSL Showdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I honestly wasn't sure how to proceed writing the story as a story, so I wanted to just write oneshots and drabbles here and there, just as a collection of her interacting with the brothers, so here's the start of taking things in that direction! This chapter is majority in Levi's pov, where you get to see him drawn to her.

Leviathan had seen the human at the student council meeting, caught himself staring at her golden hair. The color, the texture, everything about her was…beautiful. It was like playing a game with 4k graphics on a 120Hz _Scramsung_ monitor at the highest framerate! He caught himself just before he could physically shake the thought out of his head. She was just a lowly, normie human for Lucifer’s stupid exchange program. However, the thought of his brothers looking at her, _coveting_ her in the same way caused his stomach to roil, feeling every bit the dragon he put as his D.D.D picture.

The same sensation reared its ugly head as he stood face to face with her, spouting his TSL trivia. He answered Asmodeus in rapid succession, one right after the other. She was struggling and Leviathan loved the look on her face as she squirmed, trying to remember the answers she had memorized the night before. He reveled in his own superiority. High off the power trip, he turned towards his brother, “Why are her questions so easy, huh?” He demanded. “If she’s such a huge fan, which I know she’s not, then she should be able to answer the same questions that I am.”

Delilah’s eyebrows knitted together, worry—and was that…fear or uncertainty— laced into every inch of her face. He had her cornered, he knew that. Leviathan couldn’t hold back a giggle, taunting his rival, soaking up her reactions.

When Delilah brought out her secret weapon, it felt like the rug had been ripped from underneath Leviathan’s feet. His stomach sank, looking towards Diavolo for reassurance that she was lying, but he simply smiled.

She was telling the truth. She knew what happened in the unreleased installment.

Anger rose inside of him, mangled by the cold resentment that took its place when he realized it was his fault. Like Samson, he divulged his secrets, and like her namesake, Delilah used it against him. It wasn’t fair. How come _she_ got to know all these spoilers? She didn’t even care about the series! Not the way he did; no one cared about it the way he did. No one.

Leviathan lunged at Delilah; his true form released. His tail lashed out behind him, swiping at his brothers’ feet. Claws poised to strike; he saw the fear in her eyes and if he took the time, he could’ve calculated the exact moment she truly realized that she wasn’t safe in Devildom. Good. He’d make sure of it.

“Mammon!” Delilah called out to his brother, _her demon._ Somewhere in the room Leviathan heard Mammon fall to the floor, unable to help the human before him.

Just as Delilah turned to run away from the fight, Lucifer appeared between them, his own true form out as well. Barely taking his eyes off his target, Leviathan, Lucifer shouted for Mammon to take their exchange student to her room. The second oldest simply nodded, having recovered from his fall, and snatched the human by her hand, leaving Lucifer to deal with the avatar of envy.

* * *

Delilah pulled her arm of out Mammon’s grasp once they reached her room, choosing to turn around and seek comfort from the demon. She cried into his chest, holding tightly to the jacket of his uniform.

“Ack! Hey what the hell!” He exclaimed, face flushing from her touch. He tried to distance himself from the human, prying her hands from his lapels only to have her throw her arms around his middle instead. He stiffened up, realizing he kind of liked the attention, but now was absolutely **not** the time.

“I wanna go home, Mammon,” she wailed into the fabric of his uniform, hiccupping as she breathed. Mammon wrapped his arm around the shaking human in a lame attempt to comfort her. “Why am I here? Why did it have to be me? It’s so unfair.”

Mammon rolled his eyes upon hearing Leviathan’s own catchphrase coming from _his_ human and waned to call her out on it but figured it would make matters worse. He thought about it as she cried into his chest. It had been about two weeks since they had made a pact, and the two had been inseparable. He didn’t really know why she was chosen, but he knew he didn’t want her to go so soon. _I’ve got too many schemes he needs help with,_ he justified it to himself.

“Yer getting snot on my jacket, human,” he said quietly, “Stop yer crying, yer safe. The Great Mammon’s got ya.” His blush deepened, traveling to the tips of his ears, but the rumbling of his voice seemed to calm her somewhat. “I mean, uh,” he coughed when she stilled and pulled away to wipe her tears on her sleeve, “Yer my human, so it’s not like I’m gonna let anybody else eat ya, you know?”

This made her exhale a self-deprecating laugh and she looked up at him. He swallowed thickly at the sight of her tear-stained face, her eyes puffy and red, the wetness of her lashes accentuating just how rich her brown eyes were.

“Thank you, Mammon,” she gave him a smile. Mammon felt his heart constrict. That was going to be harder to justify…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Making off-brand demon names for products is a lot more fun than I thought it would be! Scramsung -> Samsung :)
> 
> In the story of Samson and Delilah in the Bible, Delilah betrays Samson by cutting his hair, the source of his strength, in the middle of the night and then giving his weakened form to his enemies. 
> 
> I named her Delilah because 1) I love the name and 2) because in the bible there are plenty of stories of not trusting foreign women, or women outside the faith, and I think it would be very fun to explore that kind of theme in these stories. She's an outsider to the Devildom, but not quite an outsider to the brothers due to her tie to Lilith, so....hmm....welcome to my think piece lol


	3. Our Get Along Shirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delilah and Levi make up...kinda!!

“The difference between a friend and an enemy is friendliness.”

― Frank Delaney, _The Matchmaker of Kenmare_

Delilah woke up a few hours later to the buzzing of her demon-issued smartphone. She spared the message a groggy glance and sobered up quickly upon seeing Leviathan’s name onscreen.

_Meet me at the planetarium in five minutes._

The idea of seeing the demon in question sent a shiver down her spine and her heart seized with image of his steely sunset gaze. Cool anxiety shook her arms as she stared at the message, not really seeing. Two minutes had already passed, and the clock was ticking.

Making up her mind, Delilah threw on a large jacket over her thin pajama top, a graphic t-shirt paying homage to one of her favorite shows from back home, to protect herself from the chill of the ever-present night that shrouded the Devildom and left her room without a single glance back.

Leviathan didn’t look as ruffled as someone who had been lectured for hours on end, Delilah decided upon looking at the demon standing in the middle of the room. He stared determined at his phone as she entered, taking far longer than five minutes to arrive.

“Took you long enough,” he snorted, ripping his eyes away from his phone and stuffing it in his pocket. “When I call for you, you need to come right away, understand? Don’t walk, run. I want you moving at light speed.”

The first thing Levi noticed was her exposed legs and then the bruises forming on her knees where she had cushioned her fall—she must’ve landed much harder than he had originally noticed. Her fine, flaxen hair was tied up in a large bun on the top of her head and her eyes still spoke of the sleep he had interrupted. 

“I don’t think you’re in position to order me around, dude.” Delilah rolled her eyes, despite the fear tugging on her spine, screaming at her to hightail it in the opposite direction. The shaking of her limbs spurred her onwards. “What do you want?”

Levi sputtered, a light, angry flush spread over his cheeks and dusted the tips of his ears. To think, he had invited her out here to honor their competition, to uphold his end of the bargain! If she weren’t in the safety net of Diavolo’s palm, he could’ve made quick work of her—and her attitude—and been back to his game before anyone could start the raid without him. He exhaled sharply and glared hard, his striking eyes penetrating her own. “Despite your dirty trick, you won. I’m here to give you your reward for winning.”

Delilah’s face grew slack with confusion. Levi groaned in irritation, “I swore to make a pact with you if you won, normie, get with the program!”

It was Delilah’s turn to open and close her mouth like an oversized fish. Levi almost laughed at her, but her voice cut him off, still irritated. “Don’t get snippy with me, I don’t really want someone like you bound to me.” Before Levi could answer, she continued, “You…tried to kill me…you had claws and sharp teeth, and…and a TAIL, and you attacked me.” She wrapped her arms around herself and began to pace as she spoke, never daring to turn her back on the demon in question. “You really would’ve…could’ve…”

“Would’ve what?” Levi asked, his own agitation feeding off the pacing girl in front him. Her breathing was fast, dangerously so, and despite his poor social skills, Levi could tell when someone was beginning to panic. He shifted in his spot as her fear laced irises locked with his once more. The realization of her situation ripped all the attitude from her body. Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“Killed me.”

“I,” Levi started, but bit his tongue. He couldn’t say that he wouldn’t have, because if he was being honest, it didn’t matter to him whether the human lived or died. She was barely a blip on his radar; a meaningless human that would expire before he could even blink. But he couldn’t tell her that. Levi took a deep breath and released it as a sigh. “Yeah, I would’ve. In fact, before a few minutes ago, I thought that if I had just eaten you, then that would’ve solved all of my issues; I would still be the reigning TSL fan, and I wouldn’t have to deal with you, but, Lucifer would totally flip, so I decided not to.” He snorted with a roll of his eyes.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Delilah felt tears prick the backs of her eyes as her stomach jolted, anxiety and fear threatening to void all the food she had eaten that day. “I really am in hell…”

“Devildom.” Levi corrected and shrank back a bit when her tearful gaze met his. She looked like she’d been dragged through all the rings of Hell itself; all trace of sleep gone from her wide eyes and trembling form.

“Devildom.” She repeated and an uncomfortable silence fell between them. 

For a moment, the pair simply stared at one another, waiting for the other to say something. Levi rolled his eyes and removed his phone from his pocket once more to check MononokeLand. Delilah blinked away her tears and took a shaky breath before standing a bit taller to compose herself. The air shifted around the pair as she took her first step towards him, causing him to look up. “Can I…trust you not to attack me again?”

Levi snorted, locked his phone, and slid it back into his pocket. “Once the pact is made, then I won’t be able to, so yeah.” Slowly he approached her and briefly realized how short she was compared to him. “But that doesn’t mean we’ll be friends.”

Delilah was exhausted, he could tell, but still she looked up at him with determination as she held out her hand. Before he could take it, she pulled back skeptically. “And will you put that crazy strength of yours to good use to protect me from other demons?” She asked and rose a brow when a blush tinted his cheeks.

Levi could feel his cheeks heat up and mentally kicked himself. Of course, he was a strong demon, he was the third born, the third strongest, and the Grand Admiral of Diavolo’s Navy. He could crush anyone given the chance…but there was something about being recognized by a woman, even a normie like Delilah, that made him lightheaded. He grumbled an agreement and she extended her hand again. Levi took it and shook it before she could embarrass him further. “Shut up, let’s just make this pact.”

To Levi’s surprise, a smile eased its way onto her feature and a small chuckle left her lips. “Wow, you really are Mammon’s brother.”

His blush spread, “I’m nothing like him!”

His reaction was comforting; it was almost human. The familiar warming sensation of a pact mark solidifying on her body stopped Delilah from saying much of anything. She wasn’t ready to experience the feeling of a part of her soul leaving, but defenseless to stop it, she closed her eyes and waited for the fatigue to set in.

Levi closed his eyes as the warmth danced across his skin. He had successfully made it thousands of years without making a pact; knowing how dreadful the experience was for Mammon, he actively avoided it. He couldn’t avoid the stories, though. Through the online forums where demons deep-dive to live vicariously through one another, there was talk of euphoria, of demanding witches, and of a tingling sensation that wraps around your being and helps you feel full with the promise of that piece of shiny human soul upon their timely (or untimely) demise.

Delilah’s eyes glazed over before she shut them completely and lolled her head back, her mouth opened to make passage for the bit of her soul Levi claimed. The world shifted as his vision was blinded by a tiny incandescent ball of light that left the human’s parted lips.

The second that Levi made contact with the orb, his limbs began to tingle. Suddenly he was in a quaint living room filled with blankets and pillows. The scene was painted in sepia tones, effortlessly giving off a magical secrecy that made him want to walk on tiptoe and play pretend. The echo of children laughing danced around him, though no children were around to be seen. Outside the window to his left was a field of flowers, all their colors swaying to the wind’s soundless music. 

For the first time in he doesn’t know how long, Levi felt at peace. The incessant ebb and flow of lacking and coveting that spread across the fringe of his waking consciousness at all hours ceased. He blinked again and the planetarium was back. Levi’s heart hammered in his chest and, breathlessly, he looked around to see if the world had shifted to match the image etched into his memories.

“Ugh,” Delilah’s grunt as she lowered herself to the floor, brought Levi down from his high.

“Wha- that was…I mean…,” Levi tripped over his words, flustered at the sheer amount that he was feeling. Delilah offered him a gentle smile.

“Mammon said that there can be something peaceful about getting a piece of someone’s soul, an almost human experience.” She said, looking up at the demon from her spot on the ground. “Satan said it was…I don’t know…a memory fragment or something…look I’m really dizzy, don’t ask me questions.”

“I d-didn’t say anything.” Said Levi. He brought a hand up to his face to hide his flush and brush his bangs out of his face when she spared him a sleepy glance and a smile.

When Mammon had badgered Satan about the sensation, Satan had read them a passage from a book that explained that the demon receiving a bit of soul, will receive a faint taste of the human’s memories. Others say it’s a collective feeling brought on by multiple memories crammed together in some kind of quilt-like patchwork design. However there weren’t enough studies to confirm either hypothesis; it was simply a case by case basis.

“Could you help me get back to my room, please?” Delilah asked. She raised her arms into the air, looking less like the 24-year-old graduate student and more like a toddler he’d just woken up from a nap.

“Already ordering me around, normie?” Levi almost sneered at her but took her hands and effortlessly pulled her up to a standing position. Delilah stumbled into his chest and placed a steadying hand over his pec to keep herself upright. Despite himself, both parties could feel his nipple harden under her touch, only serving to make him flush further.

“No, I was hoping you could help me as a friend.” She replied, taking her hand from his person as if he were a frightened animal. To be frank, she was slightly worried he would lash out at her again. He couldn’t possibly get any redder, Delilah thought, silently amused despite her lethargy.

“We’re not friends.” He avoided her gaze and practically dragged her out of the planetarium towards her room.

“You’ll come around eventually,” she yawned, sleepily trying to keep up with his fast pace. “The Lord of Shadows always needs a Henry.”

“You don’t have to act like you like TSL anymore,” He grumbled despite himself. Delilah huffed once more. Their footsteps were quiet on the old wood floors and even more silent when she stopped their forward march. The sound of a zipper being drawn down brought Levi out of his funk.

“Levi, would you take a look at my shirt please?”

He did. Surprise colored his face when he saw her TSL shirt, faded with age and love. “Wha..you…” his mouth opened and closed like a large koi begging for food. The room seemed to get colder and Delilah shivered as he raised his voice, “How long have you liked TSL? How come you didn’t tell me sooner?”

She hushed him with a motion, trying not to wake up the entire house for another round of lecturing. “I was a huge fan of the books when I was a kid and you didn’t want to be around me, so I didn’t get the chance.” 

An unfamiliar feeling pooled in his stomach, weighing him down. Guilt. Plain and simple as it was, felt heavy and shame brought his gaze to the floor. “Come on it’s late,” he said, mentally kicking himself for not sensing it sooner. Usually he could spot a fellow fan from miles away.

The rest of their trip to her room was companionably silent, the two deciding that saying nothing was better than sticking a proverbial foot in either of their mouths. She leaned on him for support, and he found he didn’t mind being near her.

Before the thought could consume him, he deposited the human in her room and quickly said goodnight. He sprinted off before the word “goodnight” could leave her lips.

“Demons are a lot more human than they realize….” She mumbled sleepily and shrugged it off, crawling under her covers to let sleep blissfully take her. The image of a small living room covered in blankets and pillows painted the backs of her lids like a movie theater projector. The sound of a young child’s laughter echoing in her mind, sending her further into her sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! It's been forever and I'm so sorry! I was sitting on this chapter, deciding how I wanted things to go and I think I decided that I'm gonna pretty much follow the storyline and jump around here and there! Thank you for your interest in the story, it means the world to me! <3 
> 
> I hope I did Levi some justice, I really do like that slippery sea monster. 
> 
> I'd like to think that when a demon gets a piece of a human's soul, they receive a bit of a memory from the human. In the brother's case, I believe that they would receive a memory that is tied with their sin. I probably won't go into detail about the memory itself, seeing as I'm planning on using that as character building alone, but I can share them here in the notes if anyone is interested! Please let me now what you think!


	4. Foot In Mouth

_“Why is it that when one man builds a wall, the next man immediately needs to know what's on the other side?”_  
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

_“promise me…”_ a voice calls, so small and strained with emotion it had almost become indistinguishable from the white noise of her dream. _Because that’s what this is_ , Delilah thinks. _This is a dream._

While the inky blackness that floated and swayed from the sides of her vision like silken drapes was new, she recognized the watery atmosphere surrounding her head, having seen it in her sleep before. Bubbles lefts her mouth and nose as she exhaled, but there was no sensation of being underwater. Gingerly, Delilah moved to touch the dark tendrils, to swat them away from her eyes so she could see into the distance.

“Normally I wake up by now…” she mutters. Her voice was warbled and distorted as if she weren’t herself, but someone far off in the distance behind the growing intensity of the white noise.

 _“promise me…”_ The same voice speaks again, clear a day, as Delilah pushes through the thick darkness. Suddenly she felt all together too big and too small as the scenery begins to warp and shift like film skipping in a projector. As the world flies past her, a final plea came from the voice, _“promise me you won’t forget me…”_

The world around her shifted one final time, spitting her directly in front of the spiral staircase that loomed in the back of the farthest hallway. Some unseen force pushed at her heels, urging her forward and up, taking the stairs almost two at a time. She barely had time to register she was moving before she was at the top, staring down a door she had a sinking feeling was locked. Why was it locked?

Reaching out to touch the handle, Delilah held her breath.

A searing pain ripped through her skin when she touched the deceptively hot doorknob. Flashes of white and black dotted her vision and a scream tore from her throat as the skin of her palm began to melt off the bone. The coherent part of her brain desperately tried to reach for the despondent dream from earlier, where feeling escaped her. Whether it was the pain or the gruesome sight, nauseous overtook her body and Delilah started to run, to get help, to find solace in the demons sworn to protect her from harm through their shared pact. However, once she reached the bottom of the staircase, her heart leapt into her throat as the floor opened up and swallowed her whole.

Delilah woke with a start. Drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, she stood from her bed and began to pace around her room. The clock on her phone shone a solid 5:00 AM. Too late to go back to sleep, but too early for breakfast.

Unnerved and growing increasingly uncomfortable with the amount of sweat pooling on her brow, Delilah elected to get ready for the day. After showering and getting into uniform she left her room to start the day, it was her turn to cook breakfast, after all. However, she found herself walking the opposite direction of the kitchen, her mind still drifting back to her dream. It had felt so real. Real enough that the urge to investigate overrode her intent for breakfast. 

“Maybe I’m not coping with living in Hell as well as I thought I was…” She muttered under her breath; her eyebrows drawn close in concentration as she navigated The House of Lamentation. The hallways seemed longer than usual. Delilah’s heart thundered in her chest, her own growing agitation making her jump as the sconces flickered on the walls on either side of her.

Approaching the stairwell, her throat constricted itself as fear coursed through her veins. So distracted by the sensation of her heart beating in her ears, Delilah couldn’t hear the footsteps approaching behind her.

“Delilah,” The sound of Lucifer’s voice suddenly behind her, made her jump. A small yelp escaped Delilah’s throat as she stumbled forward and caught herself on the banister. She didn’t catch the concern that flitted across his gaze. “What are you doing up so early?”

“I…uh…” Delilah stuttered, her mind desperately trying to keep up in the wake of her mini-heart attack. In a split second of weighing the pros and cons of opening up to the intimidating demon before her, Delilah relented. “I had a nightmare and couldn’t fall back asleep, so I was going to head downstairs, but something….” Her eyes drifted up the stairs, despite the absence of the siren’s song, “Something from my dream called me to these stairs. Weird right?” She turned to him, but Lucifer wasn’t looking at her anymore.

“Hmm,” Lucifer nodded, but did not speak. She watched as his hardened gaze danced up the stairs. It lingered and she could practically see the cogs turning behind his eyes. He furrowed his brow almost imperceptibly before remembering he had an audience of one. “I ask, no, I demand that you avoid these stairs and forget about them.”

“Uhh, why?” Delilah felt indignation bubbling up in her chest.

“Because I said so,” He replied simply and turned to leave. “We should get a head start on breakfast, let’s go before my brothers begin to wake up.”

Deciding to drop it _for now_ , Delilah followed him.

“Oh, you’re going to help me?” She asked as the duo walked together. Lucifer cocked an eyebrow at her, a light smirk playing on his lips. Despite this, his eyes were still clouded over with the unidentifiable emotion from the staircase.

“Unless you have objections,” he replied.

Delilah scrunched up her face in mock-thought, “Hmm well, I don’t know if you and your ego can fit in the kitchen with me and my ego.”

She had exactly .02 seconds to process what she said before her eyes widened and her mind caught up enough to warn her to maybe **_not_** joke around with one of hell’s elite.

Lucifer smirked at her mortified face and help up his hand, “I’m sure our egos can coexist for one morning.”

She eyed him wearily but elected not to push it. Despite his joking attitude, Delilah couldn’t shake the feeling that she had royally goofed up by challenging him twice in the span of five minutes.

Together the duo agreed to cook breakfast from the human world, as was usual when it was Delilah’s turn. Cooking alongside Lucifer had been one of the most soothing things Delilah had done since arriving in The Devildom. He extracted himself from his uniform jacket and rolled the sleeves of his green button down to his elbows, exposing his forearms. Despite being intrinsically terrified and on-guard around the demon, Delilah was still a woman, and if it’s one thing that most woman can agree on is: men in button downs with the sleeves cuffed at the elbow are inherently very sexy.

Delilah watched, pink in the face and mesmerized, as he glided around the kitchen with ease and concentration, meanwhile she clumsily beat the eggs together with the intention to make scrambled eggs. While whisking, her hand began to cramp up in the wrist she landed on during her and Levi’s fight. Gently she set the whisk down in the bowl, letting the handle rest on the side, before trying to massage the pain out.

“What’s wrong?” Lucifer had stopped his own preparations to look at her, pinning her with his carmine gaze. Her face only flushed darker.

“Ah, just a little pain from when I fell, don’t worry about it!” She waved him away with her good hand, hoping that would be enough to dissuade him from talking about it any longer. She had made up with Levi, so there really wasn’t anything else to cover.

“I do apologize for my brother’s behavior,” Lucifer continued to pour batter into the pan as he spoke. He stopped when there were three small circles sizzling in the butter he had greased the pan with. “He’s always been eccentric, but he didn’t used to have these kinds of meltdowns.”

Lucifer closed his eyes as a he sighed, and for a brief moment, Delilah thought she saw the real Lucifer; the one behind the avatar of pride, the one who worked tirelessly for the sake of Diavolo and his younger brothers. But as quickly as it came, it was gone, his usual air returning bit by bit.

“If the Bible had it right, then that means you all are fallen angels, right?” Delilah found herself giving into her curiosity before she could stop herself. “Maybe The Devildom has something to do with it. For instance, have you always you always had these sins, or were they thrust upon you once you arrived? Or did you have to earn them? Could someone take your place as a pillar of cardinal sin? What made you fall in the first place?” Once she had started she couldn’t stop herself, the desire to learn overcoming her fear of upsetting the demon in front of her.

Lucifer had to fight off the growing twitch in his left eye at her brazen disregard for formalities and invasive questions, but the more he stared her down, the more he realized it wasn’t out of malice or a hidden agenda. Curiosity danced in her eyes, plain and simple. That seemed to irritate him further.

“You’re a curious one, aren’t you?” He asked behind gritted teeth, hoping she’d catch on and drop it immediately. She did and her gaze dropped with it too.

“Sorry, Lucifer, that was…” Delilah cleared her throat awkwardly, “That was insensitive of me.”

“Quite so,” Lucifer tutted, setting the spatula down on the counter. With her gaze on the ground like a scolded child, Delilah could see the tops of his fancy shoes approach her. Suddenly one gloved hand grabbed her jaw and forcefully brought them face to face. His blood red irises stared deep into her own, a fierce warning gleamed wickedly as he narrowed his eyes at her. The warmth radiating from the leather-bound hand contrasted the cool countenance of his words. “You would do well to remember that that the Devildom is hell for us the same as it is for you. And your curiosity will get you killed one day.”

Fear gripped her heart once more, reminding her just how unsafe she was in this place. First Levi and now Lucifer. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes from the sheer force of his grip. Upon seeing this, Lucifer clicked his tongue and all but shoved her back by her jaw. The pressure from his fingertips left red indention marks along her skin. “Sorry.” She muttered again, noting the new pain that blossomed when she moved her mouth. He went back to his task without further word, and together they cooked breakfast.

The rest of the morning went by normally, aside from Delilah actively avoiding meeting Lucifer’s gaze. No one seemed to question the new development, but Asmodeus kept exchanging glances with Mammon, who sat closest to her, from across the table as if the change in the house’s human was his fault. 

The embarrassment of being scolded like a child and threatened like prey settled into Delilah’s mind, and despite her growing irritation, she knew he was right. She had been in the wrong to ask such intimate questions. And to expect him to answer them openly was foolish.

 _I’ll just have to make it up to him_ , she thought, almost bitterly, as she chewed slowly so as not to irritate the bruises on her jaw.

With every intention to apologize to the demon, Delilah went about her day trying to think about what exactly she should do. Easier said than done. Every now and again, the staircase would pop into her mind like an intrusive thought she couldn't bat away. Lucifer clearly didn't want her to see whatever was up there, so clearly it was something worth seeing. Like her own mother back home, Lucifer's reasoning was "because I said so", which only served to encourage whatever she was thinking about doing (going up those stairs). After all, _“He who establishes his argument by noise and command, shows that his reason is weak.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well this chapter wasn't much, it was more like a cracker: a vessel that carries that which is more important. So like...this is my super long segway into the next chapter that will hold more meat, I guess? Idk. I wasn't super happy with the way this one turned out. 
> 
> Anyhoo, I would let Lucifer manhandle me any day!
> 
> The final quote was by: Michel de Montaigne


End file.
